How a dishonest WASP misled South Africans

Ja, MTN Loves Mira.

This just pisses me off. Last year when I complained that Mira was lying cheating scum and that I got robbed MTN didnt want anything to do with it. I eventually cancelled my contract with MTN because they could not guarantee that some random company will draw my money from my account.

What bull****.
 
Mira Networks was contacted for comment, but the company did not respond by the time of publication.
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Breaking news! Response from Mira just received:

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ToxicBunny said:
Precisely why I have disabled all 3rd party billing on my CellC contract...

The other networks need to have a similar feature if you ask me. If anything, the 3rd party billing needs to be disabled by default, and can only be enabled by request.
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I don't think 8ta/telkom mobile even allow 3rd party billing at all.
 
boerseun said:
I call bull****. All networks require a double-opt-in before billing can commence. This double-opt-in process is controlled by the networks. The SMS (or WAP site) contains both frequency and amount for the bill. If people have been billed without their knowledge the fault lies squarely with the networks.
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Before calling BS, double-check your facts. NOT all networks require double opt-in - in fact, at last check, only Vodacom had mandatory double opt in. However, be that as it may, I do agree that the fault still lies squarely with the networks who are abusing trust and simply should not enable these damn things at all.
 
2012 said:
Are there any honest WASPs out there? I mean, just one that offers a service that is useful and not over charge for it?

Can anyone just list 1?
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Yeah, ^^ this ^^ :confused:
 
GreGorGy said:
Before calling BS, double-check your facts. NOT all networks require double opt-in - in fact, at last check, only Vodacom had mandatory double opt in. However, be that as it may, I do agree that the fault still lies squarely with the networks who are abusing trust and simply should not enable these damn things at all.
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Nope, ALL NETWORKS require double-opt-in. However, this was only since Dec 2013, so I concede that these subscriptions may date from before dec 2013.
 
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I have always held out that WASPS conduct business on a fraudulent basis and they should be outlawed. It is disconcerting that the Service Providers support them.
 
The issue here is not double opt-in. The issue is the tricks that were pulled to con the user into subscribing despite the double opt-in process.
 
boerseun said:
Nope, ALL NETWORKS require double-opt-in. However, this was only since Dec 2013, so I concede that these subscriptions may date from before dec 2013.
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Source? MTN Uses the method in my signature - if you don't opt out, they take it you're in. Has this changed?
 
I was automatically subscribed by Opera Telecoms when I clicked a google ad on my mobile phone. I didn't even have to enter any data. From what I understand, your MSISDN is passed through to the WASP in the HTTP header.

Scariest thing is that your MSISDN can be spoofed:twisted:
 
The_Librarian said:
What is the steps to take in order to disable all 3rd party billing? I want to take this step as an additional safeguard.
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The various WASP subscription management options of South Africa’s mobile operators are as follows:

Cell C

Using the USSD string *133*1# subscribers can block all existing and future content billing.

MTN

MTN also offers a USSD string (*141*5#) to manage premium content subscriptions, but unlike Cell C’s it doesn’t block all future subscriptions. Instead, users select which services to unsubscribe from.

Telkom Mobile

When asked about its self-service options for WASP subscriptions, Telkom Mobile said it does not offer an option for WASPs to charge for subscription services.

The operator previously told MyBroadband that it already has a double opt-in system in place, but has since said that it will be making an announcement involving its recently launched Event Billing soon.

Vodacom

Vodacom users can unsubcribe from all WASP services by sending “STOP ALL” to 30333.
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http://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/97071-disappearing-airtime-unsubscribe-all-wasps.html
 
It's such a pity that this is so abused like this because, in principle, billing legitimate services to your airtime makes perfect sense. I see this as a failure of the mechanism, not the concept. They should just outright ban automated recurring charges, but still make it easy to pay for stuff on an ad hoc demand basis.

IMHO, the biggest culprits are the networks, because they happily facilitate ongoing charges to accounts when they must know full well how many of these are scams. But they pocket the lion's share of the deduction, and pretend not to know what the WASPs are doing.
 
_TrXtR_ said:
Ja, MTN Loves Mira.

This just pisses me off. Last year when I complained that Mira was lying cheating scum and that I got robbed MTN didnt want anything to do with it. I eventually cancelled my contract with MTN because they could not guarantee that some random company will draw my money from my account.
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+4 Cancelled 4 contracts with MTN for the same reason. If you want to accommodate these villains then I can't do business with you.
 
Napalm2880 said:
I was automatically subscribed by Opera Telecoms when I clicked a google ad on my mobile phone. I didn't even have to enter any data. From what I understand, your MSISDN is passed through to the WASP in the HTTP header.

Scariest thing is that your MSISDN can be spoofed:twisted:
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Yeah, the number doesn't matter it just adds another number to their list to try and scam. All they need from you is to hit the confirm page. So if you think you gonna enter a friends number and hit confirm as a "practical" joke, well the joke is on you.
 
Napalm2880 said:
I was automatically subscribed by Opera Telecoms when I clicked a google ad on my mobile phone. I didn't even have to enter any data. From what I understand, your MSISDN is passed through to the WASP in the HTTP header.

Scariest thing is that your MSISDN can be spoofed:twisted:
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How long ago was this? They stopped putting the MSISDN in the header years ago for this reason, unless they've started again.
 
ajax said:
The issue here is not double opt-in. The issue is the tricks that were pulled to con the user into subscribing despite the double opt-in process.
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All these Add and Popups should be standardized and be hosted on the WASPA website itself and they should all be reviewable by the public and the networks should also be held accountable.

That way they can't hide the crap on the internet, and the warning that they are subscribed should come from the networks and WASPA themselves (maybe a double confirmation from an official number), not some random number.
 
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